"Fun With Annuities" The Annuity Man Podcast

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  The standard of a fiduciary Your retirement is not a game  Annuities as guarantees and as commodities   Key Takeaways:  Be wary of people in the annuity industry who sell one product to every type of person. In most cases, the product they're selling is the highest commission product. The annuity you buy has to be aligned with the goal you want to set f...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Buying contractual guarantees  Keeping it simple with annuities Annuities that adjust for inflation   Key Takeaways:  Buy annuities only for their contractual guarantees. Don't buy an annuity for hypothetical, theoretical, back-tested returns. Don't buy an annuity for the upfront bonus.  Buy an annuity for what it will do, not what it might do.  Annuiti...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Andy Panko discuss:  How advisors should construct their fees  The complexity of decumulation  Making the plan as good as it can be Cryptocurrency is a lottery ticket    Key Takeaways:  The work isn't linear to the asset size; advisors shouldn't make more money just because assets go up. In the same way, advisors shouldn't be paid less just because the markets...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Don't buy the dream  Backtested numbers are not guaranteed What an annuity is for    Key Takeaways:  Do not buy hypotheticals, dream sales pitches, or back-tested returns. Do not buy the annuity dream because you're going to own the contractual reality.  There's no such thing as a "guaranteed and back-tested" return. To say that it's back-tested means t...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Annuities are contracts  How Indexed Annuities should be used  Don't buy an annuity for market returns    Key Takeaways:  To say that something is "guaranteed and backtested" means that there is nothing guaranteed at all. Annuities are contracts, buy them for what they will do and not what they might do.  Indexed Annuities have the potential to go down...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Terry Savage discuss:  401k and annuities  What does it mean to be a fiduciary?  Annuities are commodity products Always have some chicken money   Key Takeaways:  When you are in the accumulation phase, there should be no limitations at all on the upside. You're better off focusing on accumulation during the 401k time period and then at the end pivoting to an i...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  The four lifetime income products How annuities are priced  The simplicity of SPIA  Getting the highest guarantee    Key Takeaways:  There are four lifetime income products: Single Premium Immediate Annuities, Deferred Income Annuities, Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts, and Income Riders that can be attached to Variable Annuities and Indexed Annuit...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  State guaranty funds  The true safety of the industry  Life insurance companies are more regulated  Assigning unused money to beneficiaries   Key Takeaways:  If you look at the state guaranty fund, each state has a specific rule in place to protect you and your money in case something happens to the carrier.  You should be buying the claims-paying abili...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Christine Benz discuss:  Why Christine is so passionate about financial education and retirement portfolio planning.  Why decumulation is not bad (and when it is a good thing).  Retirement blindspots to be aware of.  Staying mindful of additional, variable costs in your spending plan. Bucket approach investing and portfolios.    Key Takeaways:  Your portfolio d...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  The Income Rider and the accumulation value  Two numbers you need before you transfer to SPIA Calculating a SPIA quote  When you should transfer to a SPIA   Key Takeaways:  The Income Rider is an attachment to a policy that guarantees a lifetime income stream but it's a separate calculation from the accumulation value. The accumulation value in simple t...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Swallowing the food but not the pitch  Annuities are never one-size-fits-all  Focusing on contractual guarantees    Key Takeaways:  If you ever get invited to an annuity "seminar", then remember to swallow the food but not the pitch. Don't be swayed by misleading terms and enticing promises. When it comes to annuities, always focus on the contractual gu...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Chuck Jaffe discuss:  Politics and economy  Looking into how inflation affects you  How Indexed Annuities should be used  The question for cryptocurrency    Key Takeaways:  Politics don't create the economy. There are a lot more factors that go into it than just who is in power. Economic forecasts sometimes become inaccurate because there is a huge disconnect b...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Creating a solid income floor for retirement  Considering your income  Many ways to create income    Key Takeaways:  Going into chapter two of your life, you have to do your own thing. Stop keeping score. You've already won the game, you already have enough money, so why are you still playing?  It's important to have non-correlated income sources for yo...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Lifetime income and principal protection  Return of your money  Peeling of the interest to solve income needs    Key Takeaways:  Annuities aren't only for lifetime income, some products just protect the principal like a MYGA or a Fixed Annuity.  With lifetime income, annuity companies are on the hook to pay a return OF your principal plus interest as lo...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Planning with simplicity  Annuity products overview  Consumer-focused future of annuities Tuning out the noise    Key Takeaways:  Lifetime income is priced primarily on your life expectancy and interest rates play a secondary role in pricing. Shop all carriers for the highest contractual guarantee, don't gamble your retirement on hypothetical and theore...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Annuities solve for PILL  Two questions that make annuities simple  Commoditizing annuities    Key Takeaways:  Annuities are simple; they're a transfer of risk contract that primarily solves four things: principal protection, income for life, legacy, and long-term care. You don't need an annuity if you don't need to solve for any of those four items.  Y...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Annuities are DIY products  Focus on the contractual guarantees  Commoditization of annuities    Key Takeaways:  Annuities are do-it-yourself products that don't need any management fees. If an agent asks for management fees, you must ask them to explain why they included that charge.  You own an annuity for what it will do, not what it might do. The "w...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and GUEST discuss:  Saying no to DIY retirement What the right age for retirement is How annuity addresses inflation Securing guaranteed lifetime income with annuities   Key Takeaways:  Retirement is not a DIY project, do it with a professional.   The age for retirement would not be the same for many. If you want to get the optimal age, you have to spend some time...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Protecting your beneficiary from dumb choices How Stan lovingly handcuffs his beneficiaries Handcuffing your loved ones is good for them   Key Takeaways:  Lovingly handcuffing your beneficiaries with annuity guarantees protects them from making dumb decisions with lump sums.  Stan has written in the trust that when he dies, there will be a lifetime inco...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Why would you want to stop taking in income?  Three types of irrevocable income lifetime income teams  Light-switch Annuity Products   Key Takeaways:  There's a myriad of reasons why you would want to stop taking income, and there are annuity reasons that allow for this. One reason could be if tax laws change in the future and you want to shut down the...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Michael Finke discuss:  Annuities are more attractive today  Protecting your future lifestyle  Cutting little slices on the birthday cake There's no perfect product to solve for inflation   Key Takeaways:  At the time of this episode's taping, near-retirees can lock in 5.2% on five-year MYGAs for the next five years; however, it may go up or down.  When buying...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Annuities for your spouse and loved ones  Throwing darts at death  Planning for cognitive decline  Filling in financial gaps   Key Takeaways:  Using a trust, you can set up an immediate annuity purchase to trigger when you pass away to provide lifetime income for your spouse using a designated lump sum. You can use annuities to lovingly handcuff your yo...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  What are MYGAs and SPIAs?  Annuities are contractual commodities  MYGA to SPIA    Key Takeaways:  A MYGA, Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, is the annuity industry's version of a CD. The good news about MYGAs is that the interest rate is locked in and non-callable. This means that when interest rates go down, you're going to be locked in.  Annuities are co...

In case you missed it, I have decided to circle back to one of my Fun With Annuities episodes that just cannot be missed. This one has annuity gold, and it is definitely a must-listen.  In this episode, The Annuity Man and Moshe Milevsky discuss:  The problem with annuities  What's a tontine?  How income increases with tontines  The gap between healthspan and lifespan   Key Takeaways:  The point o...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Claiming your social security You can't time annuities  Three phases of retirement    Key Takeaways:  Social security payments get higher if you wait until 70 because you're older which means that your life expectancy is less, meaning that there are fewer projected payments. Fewer payments mean that those payments will be higher. It's simple, but that d...